Ball State University's Residence Hall Association

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Article One:   Specific Duties of Executive Officers
Section One:  President

1. Preside over all RHA Executive Board and General Assembly meetings.
2. Represent and be the official RHA spokesperson at University functions as needed.
3. Coordinate and oversee all RHA endeavors and appoint RHA committees as needed.
4. Call and determine the format for Executive Board meetings as needed.
5. Be abreast of all current residence hall policies and act as a reference when needed.
6. Be a member of the Issues and Facilities Committee.
7. To cast a deciding vote in deadlock situations that arise before RHA
8. To give final approval or veto all legislation that is passed by the general body to ensure legality, constitutionality, and general welfare of the organization.

Section Two:  Vice President

1. Preside over all RHA Executive Board and General Assembly meetings in the absence of the President.
2. Update the RHA representative handbook.
3. Be responsible for the orientation of all new RHA representatives during the academic year by assigning them to committees, distributing handbooks, and providing background on RHA.
4. Serve as an ex-officio member to all standing committees.
5. Be abreast of all current residence hall policies and act as a reference when needed.
6. Be responsible for all RHA equipment checked out of the RHA office, supplies for the equipment, and maintenance of the equipment.
7. Be responsible for recognizing outstanding work done by RHA representatives and facilitating the process of selecting a Representative of the Year.
8. Be responsible for the Representative Retreat(s).
9. Be responsible for reserving rooms for RHA General Assembly meetings.
10. Serve as a liaison between RHA and Hall Council Presidents.
11. Facilitate a Council of the Presidents (COPS) meeting once per semester and whenever else deemed necessary by the Executive Board.

Section Three:  National Communications Coordinator/Hoosier Communications Coordinator (Elect)

1. Preside over all RHA Executive Board and General Assembly meetings in the absence of the President and Vice President.
2. Act as the Parliamentarian at General Assembly meetings.
3. Communicate with IRHO, GLACURH, and NACURH as needed.
4. Arrange and head conference delegations.
5. Represent Ball State University at the GLACURH No-Frills business meeting, and IRHO Fall Business Meeting.
6. Organize and keep track of all correspondence from other universities.
7. Update the National Information Center (NIC) files as needed.
8. Be abreast of all current residence hall policies and act as a reference when needed.
9. Mentor the NCC/HCC Elect in preparation for the NACURH Conference.
10. Attend No-Frills and the IRHOC Conference with the NCC/HCC Elect.
11. The NCC/HCC Elect shall become the NCC/HCC following the conclusion of the IRHOC Conference and the No-Frills business meeting.
12. Communicate information from the state, regional, and national conferences and from meetings with campus representatives to the General Assembly.

Section Four:  Secretary

1. Preside over all RHA Executive Board and General Assembly meetings in the absence of the President, Vice President, and NCC/HCC.
2. Notify members of all regular and special meetings.
3. Call the roll and take accurate minutes of all Executive Board and General Assembly meetings.
4. Distribute copies of the minutes of Executive Board meetings to the Executive Board within three (3) days.
5. Distribute copies of General Assembly meetings to all RHA representatives, Executive Board members, Hall Council Presidents, Residence Hall Directors, and appropriate University officials within three (3) days.
6. Keep accurate files of all current and past RHA business.
7. Notify Residence Hall Directors and Hall Council Presidents about representatives’ absences.

Section Five:   Treasurer

1. Preside over all RHA Executive Board and General Assembly meetings in the absence of the President, Vice President, NCC/HCC, and Secretary.
2. Oversee all financial transactions for RHA.
3. Prepare and submit an annual budget to the General Assembly in the fall semester for approval.
4. Submit a revised budget in the fall and spring based upon the actual amount allotted for the organization.
5. Prepare a weekly statement of the balance for presentation at RHA General Assembly meetings.
6. Prepare a quarterly written statement of all expenditures, income, and the balance for presentation at RHA General Assembly meetings.
7. Coordinate at least one (1) fall and one (1) spring fundraiser.
8. Administer a meeting, to be attended by a representative from each hall, at the beginning of each semester to describe what is required in a fund request.
9. Oversee that any profits from an Inter-Hall Activity fund request is first paid back to RHA before any money is donated to charity.

Section Six:   Activities Director

1. Oversee and Direct the Activities Committee and create at discretion Subcommittees related to Committee tasks.
2. Call all regular and special committee meetings.
3. Give weekly committee reports at the General Assembly meetings.
4. Plan and Organize:
   1. Diversity Program
   2. Lil’ Kin Weekend Activity
   3. Safety and Security Program
   4. Fire and Ice Dance
   5. Koins for Kids Fundraiser
   6. Appreciation Week
   7. Rock the Halls Pride Week
   8. Any other RHA activity that occurs during the academic year.
5. Organize the S.T.A.R.S. Program.

Section Seven:  Issues and Facilities Director

1. Oversee and Direct the Issues and Facilities Committee and create at discretion Subcommittees related to Committee tasks.
2. Call all regular and special committee meetings.
3. Give weekly committee reports at the General Assembly meetings.
4. Work with committee to research and clarify problems and submit recommendations for solutions to the Office of Housing and Residence Life.
5. Work with the Office of Housing and Residence Life to insure full RHA involvement on residence hall issues.
6. Be abreast of all current residence hall policies and act as a reference when needed.
7. Act as the official RHA liaison to the Student Government Association (SGA).

Section Eight:  Public Relations Director

1. Oversee and Direct the Public Relations Committee and create at discretion Subcommittees related to Committee tasks.
2. Call all regular and special committee meetings.
3. Give weekly committee reports at the General Assembly meetings.
4. Produce a newsletter from RHA to be distributed in the Residence Halls four (4) times per semester.
5. Advertise and promote all RHA events and fundraisers.

 Section Nine:  Webmaster

1. Update and maintain the RHA website.
2. Advertise and promote all RHA events and fundraisers on the RHA website.
3. Be a member of the Public Relations Committee.
4. Understand the basic coding languages of HTML and PHP.
5. Understand the current file transfer and/or editor program utilized by RHA.

Article Two:  Meetings
Section One:  General Assembly meetings shall be held on Thursday of each week that the University is in session except during finals week and summer sessions.
Section Two:  The President has the authority to call special meetings of the membership if necessary.
Section Three:  A quorum of two-thirds (2/3) of the total voting membership is necessary to conduct an official General Assembly meeting. If quorum is not present, all voting business is suspended until the next General Assembly meeting or until quorum is reached.
Section Four:  All meetings shall be conducted in an orderly fashion.
Section Five:  Attendance shall be taken by the Secretary of all Executive Board and voting members.
Section Six:   Notification for new business is to be submitted in writing to the President one (1) week prior to the requested General Assembly meeting. Inclusion of emergency business can be made prior to the General Assembly meeting at the discretion of the President.

Article Three:  Attendance and Proxy Policy
Section One:  Members must stay until the meeting is adjourned.  Academic responsibility shall be the only exception to this requirement.                         
Section Two:  In the absence of the official voting representative, a proxy from the hall in question may be selected to temporarily act as the official voting representative.
Section Three:  A Resident Assistant or Multicultural Advisor shall not at any time act as a proxy for his/her residence hall or bi-hall community.
Section Four:  Three (3) unexcused absences per semester at RHA General Assembly meetings or assigned committee meetings without a valid proxy shall result in termination of that hall’s privileges to:

1. Check out RHA equipment
2. Request funds for Sponsorship or Inter-Hall activities
3. Vote on any RHA business

Section Five:  The Residence Hall Director and Hall Council President shall be notified of any absences by the RHA Secretary.
Section Six:  Special circumstances for halls that are unable to adhere to the attendance and proxy policy will be addressed on a case by case basis by the Executive Board.
Section Seven:  Appeals in regards to termination of member privileges will be addressed on a case by case basis by the Executive Board.
Section Eight:  It is mandatory for all representatives to assist with at least two (2) events or activities organized by RHA per semester.

Article Four:  Conferences
Section One:  The NCC/HCC and the advisors will decide who shall receive priority for attending the GLACURH, IRHOC, and NACURH conferences.
Section Two:  In the event of Ball State University hosting or bidding for a residence hall student conference, student members of the staff:

1. Can serve as RHA Representative, providing there is no interference to the duties and responsibilities that the individual holds to RHA.
2. Can serve on the RHA Executive Board if the individual is not holding a chair or committee chair position with the conference, providing there is not interference to the duties and responsibilities that the individual holds to RHA.

Article Five:  Representatives of Other Organizations Connected with RHA
Section One:  National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH)
Section Two:  Student Action Team (SAT)
Section Three:  Student Government Association (SGA)

1. The Student Government Association shall send one non-voting liaison to represent SGA in RHA, as assigned by SGA.
2. The SGA liaison shall serve on the Issues and Facilities Committee.

Section Four:  Community Association of Scheidler and Anthony (CASA)
Section Five:  Multicultural Advisors (MA)
Section Six:  All of the above listed representatives are liaisons of RHA and have no voting rights except during the Presidential Elections. If liaisons from other organizations wish to become affiliated with RHA, a majority vote is needed from the RHA General Assembly, after approval is granted by the Executive Board.
Section Seven:  In the event of any liaison’s absence, the RHA Secretary shall notify the organization’s President or his/her designee.

Article Six:   Impeachment and Dismissal of Officers
Section One:  Impeachment proceedings may be instituted by a petition signed by a minimum of one third (1/3) of the voting membership who believe that the officer(s) in question is/are in direct violation of the Constitution, Bylaws, or general welfare of the organization.
Section Two:  The signed petition must be presented at the Executive Board’s meeting before presentation at the General Assembly meetings.
Section Three:  The impeachment proceedings shall consist of:

1. Presentation of the petition and reading of the charges against the individual(s).
2. Individual(s) defense.
3. Discussion of charges.
4. Voting on dismissal.

Section Four:  The individual(s) in question must be notified one (1) week prior to the impeachment proceedings. If the officer does not attend the proceedings without giving prior notification, the officer waives the right to a defense.
Section Five:  No more than one (1) week may transpire between the presentation of the petition at the General Assembly meeting and voting on dismissal.
Section Six:  An affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) is required for dismissal.

Article Seven:  Financial Sponsorship
Section One:  Only residence hall organizations (e.g. Hall Councils, NRHH, SAT) may request sponsorship from the Residence Hall Association.
Section Two:  Sponsored requests must meet the following requirements to be considered:

1. The event must benefit students living in residence halls while positively reflecting upon RHA and the entire residence hall community.
2. The event must be open and publicized to all residence hall students.
3. The amount requested may not exceed the amount that the Hall Council is contributing to the event from their own budget and fundraisers (not including sponsorship from any other organizations). This requirement applies only to Hall Councils.
4. The Hall Council requesting sponsorship must have voting rights for all its RHA representatives in accordance with Article Three, Section Four of the RHA Bylaws.

Section Three:  A request for sponsorship must be filed with the RHA Treasurer no later than the date of the second meeting of the Executive Board in March, including the following components:

1. A thorough description of how the event will benefit students living in the residence halls.
2. A thorough description of the nature of the event, including exact date, time, and location.
3. A sufficiently detailed and accurate line item organizational and event budgets. Budget creation will be explained in fall and spring mandatory meetings with the Treasurer.
4. The exact amount requested and precisely how the RHA support will be used.

 Section Four:  Once a fund request has been submitted, the following procedures will be utilized:

1. The Executive Board will review the request to ensure that it meets the requirements listed in Section Three of this Article.
2. The RHA Treasurer will act as the intermediary between RHA and the organization to communicate the status of the request.
3. When the request meets the requirements listed in Section Three of this Article, it will be brought before the RHA General Assembly the following regular scheduled General Assembly meeting.
4. If the request is at or below $250, it will be voted upon the same week of its initial presentation to the General Assembly.
5. If the request is above $250, it will be voted upon the meeting following its initial presentation to the General Assembly.

Section Five:  If granted sponsorship, RHA’s name and/or logo must be included on publicity from the time the request is approved. The organization receiving funds must submit a copy of event publicity to the RHA Public Relations Director at least one (1) week prior to the event.
Section Six:  The organization receiving sponsorship must submit to the RHA Treasurer within two (2) weeks after the event bills to be paid in part or whole by the Residence Hall Association, not exceeding the amount approved by the RHA General Assembly.
Section Seven:  If the organization receiving sponsorship does not adhere to the agreement, including failure to include RHA on publicity or not utilizing funds for the agreed purpose(s), then the request reverts to the General Assembly for consideration of revocation or lowering of financial support.
Section Eight:  At least ten (10) percent of RHA’s yearly projected income will be allotted towards sponsorship. For areas of income that may vary, including fund raising, a projected income will be agreed to by the RHA Treasurer and advisors. In the event that sponsorship funds are not adequate to meet needs, the General Assembly may reallocate funds through the budget.
Section Nine:  Fund requests that are sought from the Inter-Hall Activity Fund shall follow all regulations outlined on the latest updated Inter-Hall Activity Fund handout.